


Ruffled Feathers

by orphan_account



Category: Princess Tutu
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-27
Updated: 2013-10-27
Packaged: 2017-12-30 14:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1019962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fakir does his best to comfort Ahiru during a storm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ruffled Feathers

Even the sound of the running water as the sink steadily filled up wasn’t enough to drown out the latest deafening crack of thunder; Ahiru reacted by letting out a weak, whimpery quack and pushing her head against Fakir’s chest in an attempt to hide from the noise. He gently stroked her quivering body and murmured assurances to her that it would be all right, that she was safe, that he was here with her and nothing could hurt her. She quacked again at him, some of it muffled against his shirt.  
  
Finally, the sink was full, and Fakir balanced her with one arm as he turned the faucet off. He then gently took hold of her with both hands and moved to lower her into the water. Just as he did, though, there was another boom of thunder, and she jerked so violently with fright that one of her little feet kicked his wrist.  
  
"Quack!" She turned her head to look at him with apologetic horror, but he just shook his head.  
  
"It’s okay." He lowered her the rest of the way into the water and let go of her. "Don’t worry about it."  
  
"Quack…" She nodded, and began to swim around, slowly and hesitantly. Another telltale flash of light caught Fakir’s eye from through the drawn curtains at the window, and he braced himself. Sure enough, not long afterwards, another loud rumbling shook the air, and Ahiru trembled and seemed to withdraw in on herself.  
  
Normally, swimming around in the sink calmed her down, but so far this wasn’t working as well as he’d hoped. Fakir frowned. He needed something that would shut out the noise, at least for a while. “Ahiru?” He touched her head to get her attention, and she turned quizzical eyes on him. “I have to go get something, but I’ll be right back. Will you be okay alone for a minute?”  
  
"Quack." She nodded at him.  
  
"All right. I promise I won’t be long."  
  
She watched him walk away until she couldn’t see him anymore, and then resumed her tentative swim. True to his word, he was back within a minute or so, carrying a small radio that he placed on the counter near the sink. The soft sounds of the classical music station he always kept it tuned to filled the air as he turned it on, and he adjusted the volume so that when the next thunderclap rolled in a minute or so later, Ahiru barely heard it.  
  
It seemed to do the trick: she gradually grew less and less tense as she swam around, particularly when Fakir began to quietly sing along to it in little nonsense words. It still felt a bit silly to do, but it was something else that had worked to soothe her in the past, and so he didn’t mind. For some reason, the sound of his voice always worked wonders to calm her when she was agitated, whether he was speaking or singing to her.  
  
The song ended eventually, and the station went to commercial, so Fakir went back to watching her in silence. She seemed to be doing much better, her fluffy little body free of any visible tension as she swam happily around. Underneath the drone of one of the ads playing, he heard a quieter rumble of thunder, but she didn’t seem to notice. That was a good sign.  
  
"You okay now?" He reached out and ruffled the little feathers on top of her head.  
  
"Quack!" Ahiru gave him what looked like a smile, and then used her wing to send a small splash up at him. The water hit his cheek and soaked the collar of his shirt.  
  
"Ahiru…" He sent her a mock glare that he was fully aware she would see through, and she responded with a little quack that was the closest equivalent, in duck language, to a laugh. She splashed him again, and this time Fakir laughed openly along with her. That she was able to play like this was good - it was her way of letting him know she was feeling better. He retaliated with a few splashes of his own, and she nipped playfully at his fingers. It was a great relief to be doing this after how much the storm had frightened her.  
  
Eventually, he let her go back to simply swimming around to her heart’s content, and he watched her with a soft smile on his face. When she was ready to get out, she let him know by nudging his hand with her beak, and he obeyed by gently lifting her out of the water and cradling her close to him with one arm while unstopping the drain and switching the radio off with his other hand. He carried her back upstairs and set her down on his bed to wait while he went into the bathroom to change.  
  
When he got back, she was walking around on his bed and poking the covers with her beak, as if looking for something. He picked her up from behind, and she uttered a little quack of surprise before immediately relaxing as he sat down and settled himself against the pillows with her held close to him. It was still pouring outside, but the lightning and thunder seemed to have died down by that point. He wasn’t willing to leave her alone in her own little bed, though, in case it came back and she got scared again, so he petted her and lightly kissed the top of her head and read her a chapter of the latest book they were making their way through. After a while, her eyes closed and stayed that way, and her breathing became deep and even. He closed the book and shut the light off, and laid down with her carefully cradled against him. He soon drifted off too, and they both slept peacefully through the night like that.


End file.
